St Annes Old Links - Lancashire - England

St Anne’s Old is better than I expected as I was told to avoid it. I scheduled the tee time to see the famous par three ninth and the tenth and eighteenth holes, which made up the original Royal Lytham & St. Annes before the club relocated. For the remaining fifteen holes I was told it was relatively nondescript. Yet the course was considered strong enough to host regional qualifying for The Open for five years, including 2022.

The course sits next to an airfield, open fields, some dull housing as well as the Blackpool amusement park far off in the distance. It is on a flat piece of land. We played it very dry so the course was firm and fast. The greens were in good shape.

The course is much better bunkered than I thought it would be be, although not consistently shaped or placed as well as the the more highly rated courses in area. There are several holes that add manufactured mounds to define the driving corridors.

I found all of the par 3’s to be interesting and several other holes were delightful. The fairways and course are mainly flat consistent with the surrounding landscape. There are nearly no trees. It is likely the flatness of the course, the lack of surrounding beauty, and many greens thar are uninspiring due to being flat that likely holds the course back from being more highly considered.

The routing returns one to the clubhouse after the ninth although the eighteenth requires one to cross in front of the tenth tee to return to the clubhouse. The one oddity of the course is that the four par 5’s are back to back at holes 5-6 and 17-18. One wonders if a better routing was available.

The course is a par 72 rated 74.5/143 from its blue tees at 6907 yards while the white tees are 6631 yards rated 73.1/138. I thought the ratings to be a bit high but my game occurred on a hot and low wind day.

1. Par 4 - 344. Longer hitters can reach this green from the tee. One cannot go left into the tall grass and mounds. There is a small valley fronting the green which is almost connected to the sixth green.

2. Par 4 - 410/399. Likely the most bunkered hole with thirteen including diagonal cross bunkers 40 yards from the green. The hole moves slightly right. The green is flat. With a more contoured green, this could be a memorable hole.

3. Par 3 -170. I very much liked this hole with its six bunkers including three diagonal bunkers short of the green. There is good contouring in the green surrounds. The green has good inner movement. Despite this hole being backdropped by bushes to block the road and unattractive housing on the left, it is a nice look at a hole with thoughtful bunkering.

4. Par 4 - 453/418. I liked this slight dogleg right with three fairway bunkers well placed. If the drive ends up with good length in the fairway, the hole is simple as the green is not much on the surface although the contouring in the green surrounds make the green complex more interesting. The back tee makes the drive significantly more challenging.

5. Par 5 - 565/539. While there are seven bunkers on this straight hole, they are not strategically placed to provide a meaningful defense. I liked the mounding on the left separating the fifth from the sixth. The green could be better as well as it is wide and flat before the green which is flat as well. There are small run offs at the green.

6. Par 5 - 563/529. This hole is a bit more interesting moving parallel the opposite way to the fifth. There is an early pond easily carried. A nice feature to the hole is the area slightly over halfway into the hole where there is a 50 yard area of a central bunker, grass bunkers, raised mounds. Bigger hitters going into this off the tee likely reduce their chance of reaching the greens in two. There is another pond off to the right just after this mounded area that should not be in play. There is decent contouring in the green surrounds but the green has no character.

7. Par 4 - 452/444. You reverse direction again other this hole is pointed left. There is a series of mounds and depressions down the left side. Shorter hitters will have to navigate the three cross bunkers about seventy yards short of the green. This green is distinguished by a grouping of small but ugly trees/bushes off the left back. The green is flat and needs better shaping.

8. Par 4 - 400/363. A slight dogleg right going the other direction back to the clubhouse. This hole features the same fairway mounding as the seventh, now on both sides. There is a series of mounds and bunkers as one nears the green. The green is slightly raised and humored with a taller mound off the back right.

9. Par 3 - 173/168. This is one of the most unique par 3’s I have played and I was fascinated by it. The green is long and thin set below the dunes on three sides by about twelve feet. A collection of four bunkers is before the green to prevent those trying to run a ball onto the green if the pin was in the front. There are two bunkers to either side although they stop halfway up the green as the green narrows even more. It s a visual feast and very fun to play as the dunes can bring a ball back onto the green.

10. Par 4 - 322/318. This hole plays slightly left with tall grass down the left side. Four bunkers are in the landing zone for most players. Longer hitters need to avoid the three cross bunkers coming in from the left as you get nearer to the green. This green has more movement as it is slightly crowned with a lower left section.

11. Par 4 - 367/348. There is not much noteworthy to this hole other than the green is thin.

12. Par 4 - 411. I liked twelve playing between mounds off the tee with the green set to the left. There are five bunkers near the green including three cross bunkers followed by bunkers on the front corner. The green complex has bushes close to the back left of the green.

13. Par 3 - 200. The two par 3’s on the back are the only two holes that go north -south on the course. This hole features five bunkers making up the green complex. Finally the course has an interesting green as this has a substantial four feet tier on the back half.

14. Par 4 - 375. A gentle dogleg left with eight bunkers before you reach the green. Another four bunkers await at the green which has slightly better movement.

15. Par 4 - 392/381. Seven bunkers front this green including the use for cross bunkers Set near the green again. The green is long and thin but flattish.

16. Par 3 - 176/171. A decent par 3 playing from an elevated tee to the south corner of the property. There is good mounding surrounding the green as well as seven bunkers. This s another crowned green.

17. Par 5 - 621/550. Two par 5’s return you to the clubhouse. The back tee makes this hole dangerous due to the out-of-bounds down the right. The left side has a combination of fairway bunkers and small mounds. The rear of the green is backstopped by small mounds. The green surface is disappointing.

18. Par 5 - 513/503. Out-of-bounds is down the right side. There is better mounding about 110 yards from the green. Six bunkers are before the green on lower ground. The green is on slightly higher green with some inner movement. It is an okay golf hole.

With much better green surfaces St Anne’s Old would be much better. I wished the routing had moved in different directions as well. But it serves as a decent round of golf for the seven- eight holes you will like.

Over the years I have played SAOL many many times and after a 2 year break I re-visited the course to play it straight after final open qualifying. For me the course is a good strong test, and certainly in the intervening period since my last visit there has been clever planning to use the rough too define and shape the fairways on a relatively flat piece of links land. The greens were as good as anything I have putted on this year and overall the course is a good test. My favourite hole is the tough par 3 16th with its unturned saucer of a green and protected by clever pot bunkers and needs to be treated carefully before the 2 final closing par 5s.

Cheerless is one word I’d use to describe SAOL. Too many parallel holes run broadly in a north south direction making the going unpleasantly tough when the prevailing wind is blowing across the course. The monotony of the up and down routing is unfortunately only broken up by the par threes at the 3rd, 13th, and 16th.

The 9th “Cannon” is a wonderful par three, of course, facing back at the clubhouse, set in a dune-cloaked amphitheatre, and so is “Keepers Trap” the brutal west-facing par three 16th with its crowned and well-bunkered greensite. Both these one shot holes would grace any Open Championship links course, but sadly there’s not a lot else here that tickles my fancy.

Invariably in good condition, SAOL does play firm and fast, which I enjoy, but its unremarkable, flat canvas, flanked by a main road, a railway line, houses, an airport and the backdrop of Blackpool’s garish Pleasure Beach to the north, does nothing whatsoever for my personal sensibility.

Many wax lyrically about SAOL and draw a comparison with its illustrious regal neighbour. In my opinion, the contrast between the two is marked. Both these links courses have drab suburban surroundings and both are laid out on flat ground. But that’s where the comparison ends. If SAOL had a fraction of RL&SA’s elegant shaping it might deserve to be in the discussion.

Despite being a links lover, the main reason I’m not enamoured by SAOL is largely down to the incongruous mounds that masquerade as miniature dunes. In many cases these humps look like they were dropped off by a truck and then grassed over without any thought to shaping. Put simply, they look artificial.

However, if you enjoy being tested on a tough, windy and well-presented links course, then SAOL will tick those boxes. And the two aforementioned par threes are stellar and more than worthy of the modest entrance fee.

Whilst always a firm favourite of mine, especially having been the GM back in 2007, I just had to leave a review after visiting St Anne’s Old Links GC today for the first time in a number of years.

Given the time of year and the amount of rain we have had recently, I felt I just had to sing the praises of the course. Playing with a colleague from Manchester we were both constantly and pleasantly surprised by the overall condition we found the course presented in.

The general appearance of the course, given we were heading for winter, was really good and tidy. As to the playing conditions, whilst there were a few temporary tees, notable on the par 3's, the competition tees were in excellent condition. The fairways were dry and the greens, for the time of year, were fantastic, running true with really good pace. Even the bunkers in play were in great condition.

Made me remember how fortunate the members of links courses are at this time of year.

One of the key reasons for the visit however was to see the forced changes to the 4th hole as the Club look to reduce the risk of errant tee shots finding the gardens of the houses backing onto the course. I was pleased to see that some subtle planting to the front right of the teeing area together with new bunkering down the left and lateral movement of the left hand side fairway mound, have all created a "safer" line off the tee without detracting from the overall strength of what I always found was a tough par 4.

The welcome from Jane and her team in the office to Johnny in the Pro Shop was as warm and welcoming as I remember and given the winter green fee, a visit is terrific value and makes for a great day out at this time of year.

In summary, biased - probably, honest - definitely.

St Annes Old Links sits amongst distinguished guests along England's North West coast. It holds its own.

However, this is a different type of course compared to some of the big names in this part of the country. It is flatter and more expansive than its neighbours but is still a true test of your game and must be respected.

Like all links courses the wind can have a huge impact on the way a course plays. The routing of St. Annes Old Links does consist of 'two loops' of nine, bringing you back to the clubhouse at the halfway stage (more on that later) but many of the holes run in a similar direction, therefore, you are often faced with the same wind direction on a lot of the holes. The course has four par 3's and it is mostly these that run in a different direction to the longer holes.

I wasn't a huge fan of St. Annes Old Links when I played it for the first time over two decades ago. Over the years I've become more impressed with it after each visit and always look forward to my next round. There are some really well placed bunkers and you need to think your way round the course at times. It offers much to ponder whilst walking between shots. Trains regularly pass down the side of the 17th and 18th at regular intervals whilst a flurry of planes landing and taking off from bordering Blackpool airport can be seen. The backdrop of Blackpool Tower and the Big Dipper are visible on most of the holes too.

The main downside for me (even most of the best courses have one) is that on some of the holes you can be better off wider of the (well placed) fairway bunkers. Miss the hazards and you usually have a shot from the rough or an adjacent fairway. I suspect for national championships, of which the course hosts many, the rough will be more exacting but the fundamental principal remains the same.

The lack of sea views, huge dunes and rolling fairways may not appeal to some, others may not like the openness of looking across several fairways and a few may not appreciate the subtleties of the greens, however, as a test of golf it will examine every sinew of your game. Lovers of true links golf understand St. Annes Old Links.

Ed is the founder of Golf Empire – click the link to read his full review.

This review is not adjusted for value for money, which is undeniable in this mostly over priced area.

This is an honest old links course that is mostly flat, true running with firm greens that you can putt to from almost anywhere.

Nice 2 9's out and back layout with a stand out hole (9) that is as good as sadly it is out of character from the rest of the flattish course.

Good, honest, old style, unspectacular links golf well worth a game if you like this sort of thing (which I do!).

St Annes is a decent, honest links course set over some fairly flat land. It has some special holes, namely 9 & 10 that play in an around some heavy dunes and the long finishing holes will test you. All of the par 3s were very good but to be honest I can't recall a lot of the par 4s and I played last week. I know I didn't have any issues with conditioning, greens or design and I certainly didn't have any issues with price. Expecting to pay the advertised 50pd afternoon rate I instead got the half price, unadvertised twilight rate, an hour early. Many thanks to the pro who suggested this. So for VFM, as per the argument below, SAOL is a 7 baller along with Kings Links in Aberdeen which was 8pds and Birkdale is stripped back to 3 balls, but I don't consider cost so a strong 4 balls. The course is a rugged little course, kind of reminded me a bit of Panmure but not quite as gnarly or interesting. Warren from Australia